today they grilled jay carney about it. >> i want to go back to fast and furious. what you said the attorney general said is not what he said. he said "i'm not sure of the exact date but i had probably heard about fast and furious for the first time over the last few weeks. now, the documents say that he was told the first time about this july 2010 and onl octoberf 2010. >> i would refer you to the department of justice. >> this is the attorney general. >> yes, and the president believes he is an excellent attorney general and has great confidence in him and we absolutely know that the testimony he gave was consistent and truthful. >> bill: joining us, two democratic stallworths, joe trippe here in new york and lanny davis in washington. big story? >> no, eric holder had no reason to lie. i think there is a mixup on the words he chose. i read the story and he said he didn't know about the stuff that went wrong. he didn't say he never heard about the program. he had no reason to lie period. >> bill: you are talking to me now, not talking to the millions of people wh

jay carney is standing by to talk with us this hour. also, rick perry deals with a new distraction while unveiling his flat tax plan. will his performance boost his very struggling presidential bid or will it drag it down more? and the vatican is warning about the moral consequences of a broken global economy. critics fear though that the catholic church's new fix it plan could potentially make matters worse. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states around around the world. breaking news, political headlines and jeanne moos all straight ahead. i'm wolf blitzer. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> president obama's increasingly bypassing congress or trying to, taking action aimed at boosting the u.s. economy. right now, the president is in san francisco for a campaign event. it's all part of the three-day western swing promoting mortgage refinancing, student loans and jobs for american veterans. joinings now to talk about the president's plans and more, the white house pr

s jake tapper and of course jay carney white house spokesperson it seems to me like they also have been completely unaware or unprepared that they might have to answer questions about this please take a listen. once for the american people or has a judge been shown. i'm just not going to. go any further than what i've said about about the circumstances of his death and. decay. case against them which again you're linking and i think you said that he's possible for these things yes but again is there going to be any evidence presented . i don't have anything for you on that. not see it all is in this region and so you know how a president asserting that he has the right to kill an american citizen without due process and that he's not going to even explain why he thinks he has that right . is troublesome to some people. i wasn't aware of any of those things that you said actually happening and if and again i'm not going to address the circumstances of a law he's down. right so i can say is thank you jake tapper for actually doing that that be how is jay carney so incredibly unprepared ho

carney his official spokesman president obama's official spokesperson said that he understands that was the word he uses he used people's concerns how long before the president has to address either the the group in abstract or even the group directly. well let's be realistic the president doesn't have to address any of them no matter what you do he's only recently started addressing progressive's and that's only because there's an election coming up i really don't know what this president's going to do you has really not been there were people who put him in office until just recently and whether to be there for these folks it remains to be seen do you think that there are you know to seen a morphine of the name of the group from occupy wall street since this is gone nationwide to the name niners are you seeing clues of that or or any other name yeah i think ninety nine for certain is pretty much the problem sir although there's been a lot of people talking about on i would forget or just kind of like inclusive of all different occupy protests that are going on in what i've heard i

recent document, plus comments made yesterday by the president's press secretary jay carney that were seen as dismissive and belittling to the house judiciary chairman lamar smith lit a fire among some lawmakers who had not been dialed into this controversy before and now they are and they want briefing about it. many think a special counsel is not the right avenue. >> it is the responsibility of the united states congress to make sure that the executive branch and the judicious branch function at a high level. we ought to take a look at it. but i don't think the special counsel part is necessary. >> reporter: moments ago congressman labrador from idaho says holder is either lying or grossly incompetent and asked for his resignation. he has been asked to respond. asking for any and all emails of the top justice officials. there has only been one subpoena so far. rather about 12,000, they have on gotten 2,000 which i why they say they feel the department is stonewalling, back to you. megyn: interesting, the reporter for cbs news who has been on this story from the beginning and breakin

the "boston herald" turns it out, and jay carney confirms. the president didn't actually meet this man e. was at the white house, they got close to each other at the rose garden, they didn't actually meet. the man does have a job right now. jay carney inch sillsed that the president's broad principle was true that teachers need to go back to work. megyn: new fallout today in a botched gun running program under intense scrutiny from lawmakers. nine arizona sheriff's want to know more about the attorney general's role in operation fast and furious and so does the family of murdered border agent brian terry. they join us live right there. a muslim woman says she is still traumatized after being kicked off of a southwest airline flight. she is taking the airline to court claiming discrimination. we'll have the latest on that. scott brown accused of taking an unfair swipe at his opponent elizabeth warren. >> have you officially responded to elizabeth warren's comment about how she didn't take her clothes off? [laughter] , thank god it has micropar

carney says get used to it >> no higher priority doing everything he can to help the american people >> house speaker says great concerns about the white house cc@approach blunt assessment of recent actions >> idea you are going abroad to congress is laughable keeping a close eye and the administration to make sure that are following the law and the constitution >> the white house as other presidents have taken similar steps jay carney insisted within the balance of the president's authority all sides can agree on the urgent need to create more jobs but the finger pointing against president blames republicans for throwing up roadblocks republicans blamed democrats for ignoring bills as they say will create jobs. >> president traveling abroad the country says we cannot wait and we believe a bat as well and we are not waiting >> meanwhile unemployment remains high and businesses on the sidelines atmosphere of uncertainty amid the dark clouds the stock market once again showing signs of life. european debt crisis back away from the edge with a new round move president welcomes op e publ

>> reporter: we'll hear from jay carney in a moment. i doubt he'll sell this as some major job creator. what they've said throughout is that there is no magic bullet here if you will, but they want to do every little thing they can to help cut some red tape to try to help businesses create jobs and create an environment that is a little better for them. republicans have been saying throughout the presidency that regulations have been choking businesses, that's why they are not creating jobs. they'll have that debate between now and november 2012. i don't think jay carney will try to sell this as a game changer but they will try to sell it as trying to do every little bit they can while congress in their opinion sits around. jenna: remember times when we get the estimates, a hundred thousand jobs, 20,000 jobs, all those targets. >> reporter: not on something like this. it's not on the sale of a $447 billion jobs bill. this seems like much, much smaller than that. jenna: it will be interesting to watch as they kind of come together and pa

one of the first questions he asked, jay carney said, i know you are talk about this republican talking points. and they weren't republican talking points. it was just a question. this is part of a long-term white house campaign against fox to try to de-legitimize fox because it is the most watched network and suggests that it's all republican talking points. >> i would think that they would be smarter, more clever about it. i mean, they sort of seem petty and -- the way they jab, of all people, ed. i just would think that if they hate us so much, i would like to see them be smarter about it. >> the interesting thing about this insdon't today is that of course, it's the president himself. i mean, it's one thing for the white house spokesman to be saying this in a briefing that most of the public doesn't watch. some of it's inside baseball. but when the president himself starts doing it, that just really kick its up several notches. >> it looks like they have fox talking points, the thing they accuse us of, they have fox talking points against ed. do they do this to other reporters? >> n

white house press secretary jay carney is scheduled to hold a briefing at 12:30. we haven't heard if that's actually going to take place at 12:30 or if that will get pushed back given all of the reports that we're hearing coming out of libya. as you remember this summer, when tripoli fell, president obama came out and support to reporters and said the united states government now recognizes the transitional national council as the legitimate governing body of libya. if this is true, if gadhafi has in fact been killed, it would be significant for a number of reasons, in part because it would open the way for the tnc to move forward with that transitional process. it would also of course be incredibly significant for president obama. this would likely be seen as another foreign policy success. of course, he is credited with killing osama bin laden or at least under his leadership as well as anwar al awlaki. one thing interesting is that we're hearing senators come out, issue responses to this. senator mccain, senator john kerry, all saying this is of course positive

. >> any minute now, jay carney will told a news conference where we will hear more on the white house, the reaction to the death of gadhafi and bring you that live. "news nation" is become after a quick break. chloe is 9 months old. one little smile, one little laugh. honey bunny. [ babbles ] [ laughs ] we would do anything for her. my name is kim bryant and my husband and i made a will on legalzoom. it was really easy to do. [ spits ] [ both laugh ] [ shapiro ] we created legal zoom to help you take care of the ones you love. go to legalzoom.com today and complete your will in minutes. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. [ humming ] and my job is easy. hide big things. you're good... [ crash ] [ laughing ] [ screaming ] [ tires screech ] and if you named your own price on car insurance, you could be paying for this yourself. so get allstate, you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] shop less, get more, make one call to an allstate agent. >> we continue to follow breaking news. the death of libyan leader muammar gadhafi. moments ago presid

carney this week and let's listen to it and let you respond. the former governor of massachusetts said the other day, the idea for a health care plan was not mine alone. a conservative think tank, i'm told that newt gingrich, i'm told come up with a conservative idea that say, you know what, people have a responsibility for caring for themselves if they can. and help people who can't care for themselves. if you can care for yourself, you've got to take care of yourself and pay your own. >> that's he the former governor the individual mandate and we simply agree. >> mike: so jay carney is out there singing your praises, but mentioned both the heritage foundation and newt beggingrich were singing your praises at the passage of the massachusetts health care. >> he's got a wolf and trying to cover it in sheep's clothing and it does not quite fit. not working well. the president's plan is not about the few people uninsured. he wants you to think thats what it's about. the american people know better. our plan in massachusetts caring for the 8% of po

jay carney saying yesterday, quote, his responsibility as president is to have these conversations with the american people, to take his message out and explain the approach he's taking. and in this case, to urge americans to make their voices heard. there will be questions about other things, among them, the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms fast and furious gun sting which went bad. sent guns into mexico. attorney general holder saying he didn't hear about it until earlier this year when e-mails indicate he was told of the program itself, though not the controversy, sometime last year. also questions about whether or not u.s. trainers will remain in iraq beyond the end of the year. there are indications they will. this is his first news conference since august when libya was hot. less so now. we still haven't come across moammar gadhafi yet. guys? >> gretchen: the president about to embark on yet another taxpayer funded bus tour as well. that was announced to north carolina and virginia, i believe, to promote his jobs bill. so will he be talking about how he's going to be sellin

today white house jay carney fired back at cheney. >> we don't owe an apology to the fact that under this administration's policy, this president's policy, united states of america does not torture, does not engage in torture. >>> his death last week is the highest profile killing of an al qaeda figure since osama bin laden's death last may. >>> teenager left in a coma after a skate boarding accident find out how ander son coopers new talk show is connected to that. >>> is the dulles rail line in danger? we will tell you about the costly delays that have left this months behind schedule. >>> breaking news again in the weather center we expect to see sunshine this week maybe not a lot of it today, or tomorrow we will talk about an improving trend when i bring you the full forecast a few minutes away. stay with us  [ female announcer ] starbucks via® is planted the same... ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪ it only makes sense it would taste the same. so, try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbuck

. >> reporter: earlier today white house press secretary jay carney also gave rick perry a pass. he said of the story, the name is clearly offensive, but from what i have read, the governor shares that opinion, too. but mitt romney, brian, was not so differential. -- deferential. he said, i followed the story from afar. i think it's offensive. i think most people recognize it's offensive. with regard to the involvement the perry folks had with the situation, that's something governor perry has to address. tougher words from mitt romney than the white house, brian. >> all right, chuck todd at the white house for us tonight. chuck, thanks. now we turn to the story that's been unfolding on the streets of this city and others. the movement that started here in new york about a month ago with a small group of protesters blaming wall street for the nation's economic problems. it now has thousands of people joining in and it's spreading across the country. nbc's michelle franzen is on wall street with the latest of the protests that have netted hundreds of arrests so far. good evening.

that's from jay carney. the president also announced help for student loans earlier this week. >>> rick perry heads to south carolina for a major economic address where he will outline his plan for a flat tax. the "wall street journal" features an op-ed from mr. perry previewing his plan that he calls cut, balance and grow. some of the highlights include a choice between your current tax rate or a flat tax rate of 20% a reduction in the corporate rate to 20%, and opt out of social security for younger workers and a move to cap spending to 18% of the country's gdp. governor perry emphasizes the plan would create a better environment for creating american jobs. in the op-ed he writes in part by eliminating the dozens of carve-outs, we will renew incentives for entrepreneurial risk taking and investment that creates jobs, inspires americans to work hard and forms the foundation of a strong economy. jim harwood interviewed governor perry and we'll play that on "morning joe" at the top of the hour. >>> karl rove

white house press secretary, jay carney pledged that the u.s. will increase efforts to isolate iran. >> in this arena, we take no options off the table. but in dealing with iran, we are clearly focused on working through economic measures, sanctions, as well as diplomatic measures to isolate iran. and we've had, we think, substantial success doing that. >> speaking in washington yesterday, secretary of state hillary clinton urged other nations to join the u.s. in condemning iran's threat to international security. secretary clinton also made a point of noting that iran had agreed to the u.n. treaty. >> this plot very fortunately disrupted by the excellent work of our law enforcement and intelligence professionals, was a flagrant violation of international and u.s. law. and a dangerous escalation of the iranian government's longstanding use of political violence and sponsorship of terrorism. this kind of reckless act undermines international norms and the international system. iran must be held accountable for its actions. >> secretary clinton's

white house press secretary jay carney rebuffed boehner's remarks. >> the president is operating well within the bounds of his authority. and in a way that is consistent with the kinds of executive actions that presidents have taken in previous administrations, presidents of both parties. i would respectfully suggest to the speaker that perhaps he should and the house should focus on what the american people are insisting that washington, in general, focus on, which is the need to grow the economy and create jobs. >> the house incidentally passed a portion of the president's jobs bill, eliminating a tax withholding program that has yet to be implemented. >>> iraq war vet scott olsen hospitalized with a reported two-inch skull fracture after he was struck in the head by an unknown flying object during tuesday night's occupy open protest has now been medically upgraded from critical to fair condition. great news there. according to a hospital spokesperson, olsen is now aware of his surroundings but has some difficulty speaking. protesters believe olsen was wounded by a canister of tear

. >> right afterwards, the day the news came out, jay carney came to the podium humming. i mean, he was clearly a very happy man. >> at the white house, it is mission accomplished, whether it has to do about iraq, afghanistan, anything. >> did a very dangerous. at the moment, the president -- he has gotten osama bin laden, gaddafi. >> and and or al-awlaki. >> the irony of the 2009 nobel peace prize going to president obama and two wars that he is still involved in and the most successful part of the foreign policy has been the apprehension of these three thugs. someone has to ask how you play that to your political advantage. if you were republican, it would be easier. but it is did call for this president to be able to do that and take credit for. i also thought it was ironic that in 2008, it was the fact that he had no experience. yet the one part of his presidency that he has been able to point to with some level of success is his foreign policy. domestically, he is struggling. >> another angle to this, and the advantage of being an old goat among young lambs in academ

ok so time for tonight's ridiculous and rumor has it the white house spokesperson jay carney has been trying to put a rear end to the sophomore a feud between pennsylvania avenue and kim's ass where the view apparently brother michelle don't agree on letting their daughters keep up with the car dash which is space that only one of the most important family values programs to be seen on modern television. and. lacks for. family he goes to get there. and in fact michelle's sole garage out to the stir and admitted that he's the one who doesn't like the girls watch it and since the car dash instrumental leads are the faithful followers or as they call it the cardassian mafia and news didn't really sit well we just think about it a lot of back to find a seat for a really somebody from within the mafia must have scared the president because he backtracked as soon as he got on the car dash in astroturf in hollywood have you seen the chicago i have not see the show is this you to juggle with it was. so mr president you never actually watched the car dash really i call bull obama be honest you

jay carney was just talking about that in the briefing. reports of weapons being pilfered from warehouses. i remember these from ben weederman, the armories. you were talking about how they could fall into the wrong hands. terrorists, insurgents. what's being done to prespren? >> i think jay carney was trying to put a positive spin on this. we've been worried about this. and there have been people in libya at the behest of the ntc for several months trying to get a grip on the inventory. tracking down, cataloguing and securing some of the more concerning weapons. particularly the shoulder fired systems out there. but it would be incredibly naivete point to believe that somehow pretty significant quantities have not fallen already into the wrong hands. >> mike baker, thank you so much for coming on. we'll follow that story here on cnn. thank you. >>> next to mark kimmett. he joins me from mclean, virginia. and general, i know when you were at the state department your primary focus was arms in the world with gadhafi wrong, and i'm going to

carney said this about the heritage foundation's connection with the individual mandate. a former governor of massachusetts just the other day the idea for a health care plan in massachusetts was not mine alone the heritage foundation is great conservative think tank helped on that i'm told that newt gingrich one of the very first people who came up with the idea of the individual mandate did that years and years ago that's when the governor of massachusetts describing the individual mandate and it's not a policy. and that's when the heritage foundation when knotts tweeting and carney carding stop misrepresenting heritage's position on obamacare and they wrote another editorial on their website saying for our occurred and hopefully for the last time we wanted to make it crystal clear to the white house that we think obamacare is unconstitutional and very very why it's so someone isn't telling the truth and it's a huge mitt romney in the white house or it's the heritage foundation luckily for everyone here tonight i'm going to set the record straight i'd like to submit for

. >> i was struck today at the white house daily briefing, jay carney was reluctant to say anything about this killing, which is a stark contrast from when bin laden was killed and john brennan came out and told us basically everything we wanted to know about it. do you think that speaks to the legalty of the investigation or lessons learned? >> i think it's a combination of both, lessons learned. they got into hot water for saying things that turned out not quite to be true. also the fact he is an american is a sensitive issue. there was a legal battle over that earlier this year with al lackey's father had gone to a federal court saying please stop this. this is illegal. the court threw it out, by the way. gwen: it wasn't long ago the administration saying al qaeda is weakened, leon panetta said that. now he's saying they're really, really weakened. is this that significant they can stop worrying about al qaeda? >> this is huge. al qaeda central, based in afghanistan and pakistan, was severely damaged. bin laden led that group. they had been killing their leaders for quite some time. ag

carney said this. i haven't discussed it with him i'm sure he's aware of it because he follows the news the i mean i would simply say that to send the people are frustrated with. economic situation we understand and that's why we're so urgently the fact of the occupy wall street movement is now gaining attention in the white house is a sign that this movement is strengthening each and every day and sooner or later the president himself may be forced to weigh in on the occupy wall street movement as the demonstrators will get a whole lot stronger now thanks to the support of he labor unions yesterday the new york transit workers union which last week pledged support for the occupy wall street movement went to court for the block in new york city and the n.y.p.d. from foreseen bus drivers to transport arrested wall street protesters after police rounded up and arrested seven hundred peaceful demonstrators or brooklyn bridge over the weekend n.y.p.d. ordered unionized bus drivers to haul off the demonstra

jay carney in his briefing a few moments ago pushed back on all that. the president is certainly legally entitled to do this, take a listen. >> also consistently throughout his presidency used his executive authority where appropriate to advance his agenda of helping the american people as they manage and struggle through this difficult economy. he is continuing to do that. stepping up that effort because of the instruction, obstructionism that we're seeing in congress from republicans. >> reporter: jay carney also said we have not heard the last of this. there will be more initiatives of presidential memorandums and the like going around congress in the days ahead. what is driving all this is very clear. white house feels that if the congress is not going to move forward on the president's jobs bill he will take these other steps to try and help the economy, last night, actually it was seven weeks ago last night the president had the joint session, a speech to congress, to the nation unveiling a jobs bill. since then he has been all around the country

. >>> will farrell is in town he welcomes humour to the white house posing with press secretary, jay carney he is the 14th recipient of the comedy award some of his funny friends will be there to pray tribute. it will be a good group up there i am sure. >> he makes you laugh doing nothing. >> because you are just waiting for him to do something outrageous. >> our weather

. >> he and jay carney go at it back and forth. and there was also some sniping at you where somebody from the white house calledda lunatic. >> what the american people care about the fact that their premiums are going up 25, 40, 60%. we have to do something about it. >> let me insert this. >> you had a significant interview with president obama right near the climb max of the healthcare debate. >> the legislation is not left, not right, they are -- >> i understand. i really don't talk about process but there are a lot of questions in the 18,000 that talk about process. >> some have criticized you calling it an interruptathon. what do you say to that. >> if you are not getting answers or you are getting filibustered answers where he holds the ball for a long time, you kind of owe it to viewers to press. >> i apologize for interrupting you so much. i'm are trying to get the most for our buck here. >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> thank you for your time. >> the final question for you, my friend. if this job were to go bel

. >> he and jay carney go at it back and forth. and there was also some sniping at you where somebody from the white house calledda lunatic. >> what the american people care about the fact that their premiums are going up 25, 40, 60%. we have to do something about it. >> let me insert this. >> you had a significant interview with president obama right near the climb max of the healthcare debate. >> the legislation is not left, not right, they are -- >> i understand. i really don't talk about process but there are a lot of questions in the 18,000 that talk about process. >> some have criticized you calling it an interruptathon. what do you say to that. >> if you are not getting answers or you are getting filibustered answers where he holds the ball for a long time, you kind of owe it to viewers to press. >> i apologize for interrupting you so much. i'm are trying to get the most for our buck here. >> thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> thank you for your time. >> the final question for you, my friend. if this job were to go bel

moments ago white house press secretary jay carney addressed the angry clashes between oakland police and the occupy wall street demonstrators. the showdown got so bad on tuesday police used tear gas to break up the crowd. now an investigation after an iraq war veteran was critically hurt in the melee. rick leventhal has it all live in our new york newsroom. >> reporter: and oakland's police chief says they're investigating the events leading to injuries of that iraq war veteran as vigorously as they would a fatal police shooting, but so far it's not clear how scott olson suffered a fractured skull in tuesday's skirmishes. he's been moved from emergency to icu. a veterans' group is claiming he was hit by a tear gas canister. that has not been confirmed. the oakland pd is suggesting that the situation had gotten way out of hand with a sex assault, fights, public urination and sanitation problems drawing rats. demonstrators did return to city hall last night but didn't try to stay, instead, they fanned out into nearby streets. tuesday demonstrators faced off with cops, and wave after wa

>> jay carney is talking about the alleged plot where iran is accused and specifically two two iranians one iranian-born american citizen accused of plotting to bomb the saudi embassy and the israeli embassy in washington and also to hire guns to assassinate the saudi ambassador to the united states, a diplomat who is a close foreign policy adviser to the saudi king. as the white house has been explaining and hillary clinton has said there has to be a response to this. they want to know how high up this plot wednesday. joining me is david cone who is responsible for sanctions who were imposed today on a iranian government owned airline that does business with the force. thank you for joining us. what do we know about what this man allegedly really intended to do? there is a lot of question not about the fact that you have argued or the justice adopt argued they have a case based on a government informant and tapes and then once the man was arrested some 12 or 13 days ago, a supposed confession and more tapes when he was calling back to iran. but what was the involvement of the iranian g

jay carney explained. >> these announcements are part of a series of executive actions to put americans back to work and strengthen the economy because we cannot wait for congressional republicans to act. >> live on capitol hill, mike, any response from the white house on boehner's claim apart from if you won't do anything, the president has to act? >> they through a little ridicule. he noted before leaving town for the week the house of representatives led by the republicans passed a commemorative coin act commemorating the baseball players in the country and unclear on whether he has it at this point. the best we can tell is a broadry defined term outside the legislative process and orders would be somewhere underneath that. there have been other presidents republican and democrat alike who used actions to effectuate new rules. that's part of the issue here. the larger point that the white house is trying to make is that the house is not moving at least on the president's agenda. luke will have information about republicans and what they say about that. the fact of the matter is that